A lot of people find this part of the Quilting process a little daunting - mostly it comes down to practice - the more you practice the better your machine quilting will become. I am sharing some of the things I think that will help the most and they ways I prefer to do things, to set yourself up to enjoy and be successful at machine quilting.

NEEDLES

* Make sure to change your machine needle at least every 8 sewing hours or

at the start of a new quilt.

* I recommend using Universal size 80 needles

* If using thicker style threads such as Aurifl 12wt - use a Topstitch needle.

THREADS

* I love to use a variety of different threads when machine quilting - you can

create lots of interest and detail in your quilt by using different colours,

and dropping down the feed dogs (the serrated teethe under the stitch plate).

When you are stitching with these - you are in complete control of your

machine and its sewing - this takes practice but the more you do the better

you will become.

* It is important not to create "drag" on your quilt when machine quilting. Roll

the quilt so that the bulk is on the outside of the machine rather than in the

quilting bed (neck).

* Get comfortable - make sure you position yourself so that you are at the right

height and can sit well at the chair so that you are not "hunched" over your

machine.

* Start in 1/4 of the quilt and work your way around in a circular motion,

unrolling the quilt as you go if you are working on a Free Motion design.

When Machine Quilting lines, sew all the horizontals and then all of the

verticals. Take your quilt out of the machine and re-roll when needed to help

reduce the bulk of the quilt in the quilting bed and to make sure you don't

have "drag" on your quilt.

QUILTING PATTERNS

* There are lot of different patterns you can make when Machine/Free Motion

Quilting

* Machine Quilting - you can make Cross Hatching, Double Cross Hatching or

Curved Cross-Hatching Tram-lines just to name a few I use regularly.

* Free Motion Patterns I love to use are Stippling, Loops, Geometric Patterns,

and designs which incorporate all of these.

* I recommend going to your local Quilting store and taking lessons on Free

Motion and Machine Quilting. This will really help to increase your confidence

and you can work through with them if you are having any issues with your

machine and having someone right there can really help. It is also a great

way of practicing.

SWEET STARS MINI QUILT/CUSHION

* From the pattern I made several of the blocks and then joined them to make a

Mini Quilt. I used my favourite design which is Loops. This is my "go to" Free

Motion design as I can sew it quickly and looks great when the design

incorporates several blocks and lines within the patterns are less obvious.

EDIT _ GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED GIVEAWAY - If you would like to win a Fat 8th Bundle of Sweet Orchard by Sedef of Down Grapevine Lane for Riley Blake Fabrics then you can leave a comment below. There is one bundle up for grabs - open internationally and a random name will be drawn on Friday 30th September. (make sure to leave a contact email)

Note: I used Faux Leather for this project - you can, of course, use real Leather or even fabric like Chambray or Linen.

Cutting Instructions

Cut 2 - 7.5in x 9in pieces from Feature fabric

Cut 2 - 5.25in x 9in pieces from Faux Leather

Cut 2 - 12.25in x 9in pieces from Lining fabric

Cut 2 - 7.5in x 9in pieces of Interfacing

1/4in Seam Allowance

Step 1 - Take the Feature Fabric pieces and with the iron, fuse the Interfacing to the wrong side of the feature fabric. Take one Feature Fabric piece and one Faux Leather piece and with right sides together (RST) place the raw edges together. Pin and sew in place. When you pin faux Leather, place your pins into the seam so that you do not leave holes in the leather or you can use Wonder Clips to hold in place while you sew.

Step 2 - Gently press the seam towards the feature fabric. Make sure to turn your iron heat down and do not press directly on the side of the leather but rather the back side. Repeat steps 1-2 for the other pieces to make the back.

Step 3 - To sew the zip, take your front side panel and place it down with right side facing UP. Place the zip - right side DOWN along the top edge of the front panel piece.

On top of the zip place one of the Lining piece with right side DOWN. Pin to hold the three layers together.

Step 4 - Pull the zip open about 1/3rd of the way along. Sew along the raw edges of the fabric and zipper to sew in the zip. You may need to put your Zipper Foot on your machine. When you have nearly reached the zip put the "Needle Down" into the fabric and then place the Foot up and pull the zipper closed (then put your foot back down) to sew past without hitting the zip.

Step 5 - Turn your fabric out and over the right way. Pin the Zip and Front and Lining Fabrics together and Top Stitch along the edge of the fabric to hold the Front and Lining fabric into place. By Top Stitching this will ensure that you do not catch the lining fabric into the zip when you open it.

Step 6 - Repeat for the Back side by firstly placing the Lining fabric with the right side facing UP. Then place the completed Front Panel on top of the Lining fabric with the right side facing UP. Then place the Back piece on top of the front Piece. Line up the top raw edges and Pin. Sew in place as you did for the front. Top Stitch the Back top edge.

Step 7 - To sew the Foldover Clutch together - place the Front and Back sides together and the Lining pieces together (RST). Make sure to OPEN the ZIP!!! Pin around the outside edges of the clutch lining up the corners, side seams and zip ends. Begin sewing 2/3rds the way along the bottom edge of the Lining and then all the way around your clutch till you get back to about 1/3rd. You can see I have marked where I start and finish with Blue Pins leaving this gap in the Lining for turning out. Once you have sewn all the way around clip the corners and turn your Clutch out the right way and make sure you have "poked" out the corners. Sew the opening in the Lining closed.

Step 8 - Gently press the clutch at the side seams and then fold over the top edge and press in place where you would like it to fold. I like to do this about half way down the leather.

These are great fun to make for yourself and as gifts. Fill them with your favourite things and off you go. You can add Tassel's or Zipper Pulls or even pieces of Ribbon through the Zip pull.

If you have a go I'd love to see your makes - tag me - @tiedwitharibbon or use the #foldoverclutchtutorial so I can see your creations.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

It's pretty safe to say that one of my Quilting idols is Amy Sinabaldi - I love her style, her colour choices, her patterns and her fabric ranges are to die for. So getting to be able to work on her Playground Showcase was nothing short of amazing. Playground is Amy's latest range for Art Gallery Fabrics and is available now.

As soon as this amazing bundle arrived from Amy I got straight to sewing. I love the childhood memories behind this range and how each of the prints remind me of games I played or things we used to do with my family when I was young. The colours work so great together and I knew I wanted to do a project that involved using the complete range together.

From the range I would have to say that Chopsticks in Iris would be my favourite print - I can see using a lot of this one in lots of upcoming projects - I love stripes - but these Chevron, staggered stripes are the ultimate.

This Pin Pal is our latest Sew Along pattern (Sew Along is a joint venture between myself and Claire Turpin Design) and I have not been able to stop making these addictive Sewing Room mates. I really adore the colours in the prints and how well they work together.

When Amy and I chatted about possible projects this Confetti Cushion was definitely going to work well to show how the range of prints and colours all can work beautifully in one project together. Using the collection and a Cotton/Linen Weave Blend I set about making a Confetti Cushion.

And when it came to machine quilting it - I could not go past adding some Pink Sparkle with my favourite Aurifil Brillo Thread - #700. I really love this Aurifil metallic thread - it sews like a dream through your machine and gives that added touch of glitz.

I can't wait to get making on some more projects using Playground - and can't wait to see what Amy will have in store for her next range.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Today is my turn on the Penny Rose Design team to share with you all about some of the latest ranges and a Tutorial. You all know just how much I adore the fabric collections of Elea Lutz and her latest range Apple Farm is just so darn adorable.

With so many sweet prints - you will just love this range. While the designs are cute and whimsical I decided to pick out some of the more "sophisticated" prints to show you how to make these Foldover Clutches. I think these would be great for a night out to mix and match with your outfits and hold all of a girls essentials!